Message:

I posted these instructions a few months back but could not find them in the archive so I retrieved them from a sent email. OCJeff posted the proper BMW part numbers for the plugs to interface with the 2001 fog lamps. I did not have the information at the time I wrote this message and cannot find it. (Jeff - do you still have those part numbers ?) Here is my message :


Yesterday I replaced the (damaged) front bumper on my 98 528i with a new 2001 bumper. I had the incredibly good fortune of finding someone just across town from me ("Solo" on this board) who had installed an M5 bumper on his 2001 530i (same color as my car - jet black) - and was willing to part with his old bumper cover plus fog lamps for a very reasonable price.

The project was not terribly difficult, but it could have been a LOT easier if I had bought replacement plastic rivets (12) before starting. Seems that the entire "bumper" is composed of the plastic cover and a metal bumper to which the plastic cover is riveted. It would have been so much easier to drill or cut out the old rivets, but since I did not have spares I carefully extracted them as best as I could. For those that were reachable with a ball peen hammer, I hammered them out from the back. Some I just pried up (with much effort) using a couple of flathead screwdrivers. Was able to salvage 9 of the 12 and re-use them.


Things you will need for upgrading to the 2001 bumper:

Right and left fender skins ( BMW part nos 51-71-7-008-689 and 51-71-7-008-690 - about $15 each)
12 plastic rivets (!) - not sure the part #
Torx T50 socket (bought mine at Sears!) , ratchet handle and short extension
Nut driver or socket for fender well hex screws - think they are about 8 or 9 mm
Flathead screwdriver for pulling 4 pop rivets from plastic bumper grill inserts
Fog lamp plugs (2) - part information is indicated below

Instructions follow:

(note - I suggest you use some padding along the ground in front of the car to prevent scratces to the bumper while it is resting in front of the vehicle). Also - as noted below - I hear it is much easier to either remove the headlamps or grease them along the bottom to help with fitting the new bumper into place. I did the latter without any trouble. The headlamps are bolted into place with four bolts, all accessible from the top. Let me know if you have more questions.

1. REMOVAL

Using a flathead screwdriver or equivalent, remove center portion of pop rivets (2 per side) attaching left and right bumper grille inserts (adjacent to the fog lamps), pull/pry downward to remove rivets, and carefully remove plastic inserts.

Remove hex head screws in right and left fender wells - 3 per side along the middle, roughly at the same height as the center of the wheel. There should be 2 more screws in each fenderwell along the bottom, but my fender skins were broken in this area (courtesy of bumper damage caused by a parking block).

Using T50 socket and ratchet handle, remove long screws holding bumper. These screws are located in/above the (removed) bumper insert area.

Pull bumper straight forward and unplug fog lamps.

2. NEW BUMPER PREP

Assuming that you did not buy a new aluminum "bumper" (looks expensive - and since it looks to be a pretty big piece of aluminum I would bet it is a little pricey) and you want to reuse the old one, remove 12 plastic rivets attaching the metal bumper to the cover. 6 rivets are located along the front of the bumper (underneath the removable trim) and 6 rivets are located along the bottom of the metal insert. Mine had no rivets on top. I strongly recommend that you buy replacement rivets - if so, then cut or drill out the old ones.

Transfer metal bumper into the new bumper cover. Attach with 12 platic
rivets. (The trim will have to be removed from the new bumper to attach the rivets). Center plug of each rivet had to be pulled back to permit rivet to be inserted - then center plug can be pushed back in.

My bumper came with the fog lamps and ducting already installed. There
should be one brake duct on each side, along with a round (engine air
intake?) duct on the driver's side.

3. FOG LAMPS

Note that the 2001 (found) fog lamps have a different plug than the older (ellipsoid) fog lamps. I was lucky to get plugs from the seller, but here are the numbers I read off of the back of the new plug in case you need to buy them (quantity = 2):

BMW 6907366

AMP 1-1355668-1

1-1355664-1 (I assume that this is an AMP number as well)

>PBT-GF10< (Note: a stylized 'B' is placed above this number)


** OCJeff: Can you provide the BMW part numbers?? **


4 FENDER SKINS

If you are changing an older bumper (like my 98) to a newer 01+ style bumper then I am told that new fender skins are needed. Not sure - but my old ones were trashed so I changed them anyway. Note that an ambient air temperature sensor is attached to the passenger side fender skin. Remove plug, then extract sensor from old fender skin and insert into the new fender skin.

Plug in temperature sensor. The fender skins mate along the bottom with the surrounding panels, and then attach with three hex head screws along the top. Two more screws are located along the bottom to mate the fender skin to the bumper when it is in place.

5. NEW BUMPER INSTALLATION

Plug in fog lamps.

Line up ducting - one passenger side, two on driver's side

Line up sides of bumpers with "rails" in front of tires. Bumper will slide onto the rail on each side.

Push bumper into place.

Attach T50 bolts.

Reinsert bumper panels with pop rivets.

Attach bumper to fender skins.


NOTE: I have heard it is much easier to install the new bumper by either (1) lubricating the bottom surface of the headlamp assemblies or (2) removing the headlamps (and then replacing them once the bumper is in place). Don't know whether it is true, but I did the latter and did not have problems fitting the bumper into place.


You're done!

NOTE: I'm told it is normal to get a temporary "-39F" temperature reading on the dash after disconnecting and reconnecting the ambient air temperature sensor . Mine went away after about 30 minutes of driving time.

Hope this helps.

Vince
98 528i sport (w/ 2001 bumper)